TikTok Privacy Tips

TikTok (owned by ByteDance in China) collects massive amounts of data: location, device identifiers, browsing history, biometric data (face and voice prints), clipboard content, and even your keystrokes. Internal leaks confirm that China-based ByteDance employees have repeatedly accessed US user data despite TikTok's denials.

⚠️ Critical Warning

TikTok is subject to Chinese law. China's National Intelligence Law requires all Chinese companies—including ByteDance—to provide data to the government upon request. US officials have confirmed that ByteDance employees accessed American journalist data in 2022 to track internal leaks, and there is evidence of Chinese government requests to monitor Hong Kong dissidents and Uyghur populations.

Top 5 Privacy Tips

  1. Make Your Account Private

    Settings → Privacy → Private account (toggle ON). This limits who can see your content, but does NOT stop TikTok from collecting your data. Even with a private account, TikTok still tracks your location, device info, browsing history, and watches everything you do inside the app. A private account only controls who sees your videos—not what data ByteDance collects about you.

  2. Disable Location Services

    Settings → Privacy → Location Services (toggle OFF). Also disable in your phone's system settings: iPhone: Settings → TikTok → Location → Never. Android: Settings → Apps → TikTok → Permissions → Location → Deny. TikTok uses location data to build profiles of where you live, work, and travel. This data can be accessed by ByteDance employees in China and potentially shared with Chinese authorities.

  3. Revoke Clipboard and Camera/Microphone Access

    TikTok has been caught reading your clipboard (anything you copy/paste) and accessing camera/microphone in the background. iPhone: Settings → TikTok → disable "Paste from Other Apps", Camera, and Microphone when not in use. Android: Settings → Apps → TikTok → Permissions → deny unnecessary access. Security researchers discovered TikTok reads your clipboard every few seconds—even when the app is closed.

  4. Know the Risks: Biometric Data Collection

    TikTok's privacy policy admits to collecting "faceprints and voiceprints"—biometric identifiers that can uniquely identify you. This data is used for filters and effects, but also for facial recognition and voice analysis. Once collected, this biometric data can be accessed by ByteDance employees in China. There is no way to opt out while using TikTok—the only solution is to stop using the app.

  5. Best Solution: Delete TikTok

    No privacy setting will protect you from TikTok's surveillance. Internal leaks confirm that China-based ByteDance engineers have "god credential" access to all TikTok data—including private messages, drafts, phone numbers, and location history. Ireland's Data Protection Commission fined TikTok €530 million in 2025 for failing to protect European user data from Chinese government access. The only way to protect your privacy is to delete the app entirely.

TikTok Privacy Policy